System and method for redeeming a reward

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for redeeming a reward held by an individual are described. A method for redeeming a reward includes determining threshold criteria for provision of a targeted reward redemption offer, identifying at least one individual based upon the threshold criteria, determining the targeted reward redemption offer, and providing the targeted reward redemption offer to the identified individual. A response to the provided targeted reward redemption offer may be received, and an account of the identified individual may be adjusted in accordance with the targeted reward redemption offer and the received response.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/232,257, entitled “System and method for redeeming a reward,” filedon Sep. 20, 2005. The entire contents of which is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD

The present application relates to systems and methods for redeeming areward, and more particularly to systems and methods for redeeming areward by determining an offer, providing the offer to an individual,and receiving a response to the offer.

BACKGROUND

Reward programs may be used as marketing devices to provide incentivesto individuals to perform transactions using accounts, for examplefinancial accounts. The reward programs may be managed by entities suchas financial institutions. In a conventional reward program, a rewardaccount of an individual is established and linked to or associated witha financial account to allow the individual to receive a type of benefitin exchange for using the financial account in performing transactions.The benefit may include reward units, such as reward points, and thereward units may be exchanged for goods and services, such as airlinetravel and consumer products offered by various merchants and serviceproviders. A financial transaction card is commonly associated with thefinancial account and/or the reward account, and is provided to theindividual to facilitate the performance of the transactions withoutrequiring the use of cash or personal checks.

The number and variety of reward programs managed by entities hasincreased greatly, and the increased number of programs has in turnresulted in increased utilization of reward programs by individuals. Forexample, a large number of financial institutions presently offer andmanage reward programs, and it is common for an individual to havemultiple independent financial accounts each associated with a separatereward type or reward program. This increased participation in rewardprograms has led to the accumulation of large balances of reward unitsby a great number of individuals.

In conventional reward programs, the rewards may have a long orindeterminate duration, and may be maintained in the reward accountuntil the individual elects to redeem them for goods and/or services.These accumulated balances of indeterminate duration may thereforeresult in large values of unused reward units being maintained for longperiods of time, necessitating substantial effort and introducinguncertainty into accounting and financing programs of the entity.Furthermore, the unused value represents a claim against the entityand/or merchants for which the reward units may be exchanged, adding tothe accounting and financing uncertainty associated with the largestores of unused reward units. Additionally, individuals holding rewardunits may forget about the accumulated reward units and thereforeneglect to redeem them, resulting in an underutilization of rewardprogram benefits and a decrease in satisfaction of the individuals.

Accordingly, a need exists for reward systems and methods thatfacilitate the redemption of rewards by individuals, and that offeradditional mechanisms by which individuals may be encouraged to utilizereward program benefits.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present application provides for a method for redeeminga reward held by an individual, comprising determining thresholdcriteria for provision of a targeted reward redemption offer,identifying at least one individual based upon the threshold criteria,determining the targeted reward redemption offer, providing the targetedreward redemption offer to the identified individual, receiving aresponse to the provided targeted reward redemption offer, and adjustingan account of the identified individual in accordance with the targetedreward redemption offer and the received response.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system for redeeming a reward according to theexemplary embodiments of the present application; and

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for redeeminga reward according to the exemplary embodiments of the presentapplication.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiments of the present application relate to systemsand methods for redeeming a reward. A method for redeeming a reward mayinclude determining threshold criteria for provision of a targetedreward redemption offer, identifying at least one individual based uponthe threshold criteria, determining the targeted reward redemptionoffer, and providing the targeted reward redemption offer to theidentified individual. A response to the provided targeted rewardredemption offer may be received, and an account of the identifiedindividual may be adjusted in accordance with the targeted rewardredemption offer and the received response.

An exemplary reward redemption system 100 is shown in FIG. 1. The rewardredemption system 100 may include an entity 102 and at least onetransaction account 104. The entity 102 may provide various services,including maintaining accounts. In an exemplary embodiment, the rewardredemption system 100 may be associated with a financial institutionsuch as a bank, credit union, mortgage issuer, or a provider offinancial services. The entity 102 may provide services to individualsthrough the transaction account 104, and the transaction account 104 maybe associated with balances and/or lines of credit. The transactionaccount 104 may be associated with an individual, the individualtypically being an identified principal holder of the account. Inalternative embodiments, one or several entities may be associated witha single transaction account 104, including individual and enterpriseentities. The entity 102 may include, for example, a bank, a brokerage,a mortgage company, a credit union, and a transaction card issuer, suchas a credit card issuer. The entity 102 may additionally be responsiblefor facilitating payments for transactions performed by the individual.As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the term “account” mayinclude any arrangement providing for dealings or services, and mayinclude transactions involving items, services, persons, etc.

An exemplary reward redemption system 100 of the present application mayinclude software programs and/or routines stored and executed, forexample, by a computer system 112 of the entity 102, and the softwareprograms and/or routines may include software programs and/or routinesfor performing communication with other computer systems in conjunctionwith computer communication hardware and software. Communication betweencomputer systems may be performed via a public communication network,for example the Internet, or via a private communication networkseparate from and independent of a public communication network. Thecommunication may be performed by utilizing communication methods andprotocols including TCP/IP, FTP, SSH, WIFI, and the like.

The terms “computer system” and “network” as used herein may include avariety of combinations of fixed and/or portable computer hardware,software, peripherals, and storage devices. The computer system 112 mayinclude a plurality of individual components that are networked orotherwise linked to perform collaboratively, or may include one or morestand-alone components. The hardware and software components of thecomputer system 112 of the present application may include and may beincluded within fixed and portable devices including desktop, laptop,server, personal digital assistant, tablet, smart phone, television,radio, and audio and video recording devices.

The computer system 112 of the entity 102 of the present application mayfurther include a processing system 114, at least one internal storagedevice 116, at least one external storage device 118, at least oneprinting device 120, at least one reading device 122, and at least oneinput/output device 124. The storage devices 116, 118 may includedevices for storing data electronically, such as hard drive devices,storage servers, storage-area networks, RAID configurations, opticalmedia drives, holographic media drives, tape media drives, flash memorydevices, and the like. The computer system 112 may also include computersystem components including one or more random-access memory modules.The at least one input/output device 124 may additionally include one ormore peripherals such as keyboards, mice, and monitors for enablinginput and output of information to and from the computer system 112.

The software routines and/or programs may be embedded and/or stored inthe internal storage device 116 or external storage device 118 and maybe run by the processing system 114. Alternatively, the softwareroutines and/or programs may be run by another computer systemindependent of entity 102, with output of the software routines and/orprograms being accessed by processing system 114 and/or input/outputdevice 124. The processing system 114 may run software applicationsincluding operating systems such as UNIX, Linux, BSD, OS/2, VMS, VAX,and Microsoft applications, as well as database applications, web serverapplications, file server applications, FTP server applications, mailserver applications, and the like.

Additionally, the computer system 112 may be capable of networkcommunication, and the networks over which the communication may beperformed may include wired or wireless communication lines andassociated hardware devices used in transmitting, receiving, and routingdata, such as routers, switches, hubs, network interfaces, and the like.

The computer system 112 may also include software applications to allowit to function as a web server for delivering information via anInternet interface using sockets. The information transmitted by the webserver may include web page information identified by universal resourcelocators (“URLs”), and formatted in Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”)or a similar formatting language in response to requests received viathe Internet. The web page information may also include informationformatted using Dynamic HTML (“DHTML”), Extensible Markup Language(“XML”), Java, JavaScript, and the like. Alternatively, the web servermay be configured to provide information utilizing Wireless AccessProtocol (“WAP”) to a WAP-enabled device such as a cellular telephone,personal digital assistant (“PDA”), and the like.

Web server functions may be performed through utilization of web serversoftware applications such as Apache, Netscape, and Microsoft web serverapplications in conjunction with Common Gateway Interface (“CGI”)applications. The CGI applications may perform tasks related toreceiving and sending data packets to other computer systems viacommunication networks, and may additionally perform communication withthe database applications in accordance with information received fromthe communication networks. The CGI applications may include programswritten, for example, using programming languages such as C, C++, C#,Java, Perl, Python, Ruby, BASIC, COBOL, and shell scripts. Additionally,the web server applications may incorporate or may be associated withdata encryption applications including Secure Socket Layer (“SSL”)and/or Transport Layer Security (“TLS”) applications for providingendpoint authentication and communications privacy using cryptography,and secure shell (“SSH”) applications for encrypted communications,tunneling, forwarding ports, and transferring data files. The web serverapplications may additionally provide web services, and the web servicesmay be provided via private communication networks and/or publiccommunication networks such as the Internet.

The database applications may be utilized to define, build, and managedatabases, and the databases may be stored in internal storage devices116 and/or external storage devices 118. The database applications mayinclude relational database management systems, such as applicationsdeveloped by Oracle, IBM, and the like.

Additionally, the computer system 112 may run information processingsoftware modules, including modules for account establishment andmanagement, confidential information collection, request reception andprocessing, information formatting and transmission, securitymonitoring, and report generation. As will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art, the modules may be programmed using, for example,one or more of the programming languages identified above, and may beprogrammed to interact with and utilize the computer systemcommunication and data processing hardware elements identified above.

A transaction card for performing transactions may be linked withtransaction account 104. The transaction card may include, for instance,a credit card, a debit card, a reward card, a check card, a stored valuecard, and a smart card. Usage of the transaction card to performtransactions using the transaction account 104 may be performedelectronically and may be facilitated by a mechanism such as a magneticstrip positioned on the transaction card or via a processing unitincorporated into the transaction card. Accordingly, the individual mayuse the transaction card to perform transactions, for example purchasetransactions, through a merchant using funds or credit held in thetransaction account 104.

The merchant may include a vendor having a physical store carrying aninventory of products and/or services for sale to individuals, or mayinclude a virtual store presented in the form of a web page and usableby individuals via a communication network such as the Internet.Additionally, transaction card reading devices at merchant locations mayread data encoded on the magnetic strip and/or data transmitted by theprocessing unit of the transaction card to identify the transactionaccount 104 associated with the transaction card, and the balance of thetransaction account 104 may be adjusted in accordance with thetransaction.

A merchant may utilize a transaction system that may be operable forperforming transactions, for example purchases, sales, refunds, rebates,and the like involving products and/or services offered by the merchant.In an exemplary embodiment, the transaction system of a merchant mayinclude a point of sale (“POS”) terminal operable for reading thetransaction card. Alternatively, each merchant transaction system mayinclude an automated teller machine (“ATM”), a cash register, atransaction card reading device, a magnetic scanning device, an opticalscanning device, and the like, and may include a display device and aprinting device for presenting information to the individual performingthe transaction. The performance of transactions involving purchases andsales of goods and services using transaction accounts and associatedtransaction cards is well known in the art, and therefore will not bedescribed in detail herein.

To facilitate use of the transaction card in performance oftransactions, a reward may be associated with a reward account 106, andthe reward account may be linked or associated with the transactionaccount 104. The reward may include reward units, for example in theform of reward points or reward miles, and a balance of reward units maybe maintained in the reward account 106. Reward units may be credited toand accrued by the individual, for example, when the transaction account104 and/or transaction card is used at any number of merchants.

Reward units may be associated with a predetermined quantity or value ofan incentive, promotion, benefit, or the like associated with the use ofthe transaction account 104 and/or the transaction card. In an exemplaryembodiment, a quantity of reward unit may be associated with a value ofa transaction performed using the transaction card and granted to theindividual. For example, each dollar spent using the financialtransaction account 104 and/or transaction card may correspond to onereward unit.

Reward units may be redeemable for discounts from a price of goodsand/or services. Additionally, reward units may be redeemable for directexchanges for goods and/or services. In an exemplary embodiment, forexample, a reward unit associated with an airline service benefit may beassociated with a predetermined number of miles of airline travel. Theairline mile reward unit may accordingly be redeemable for travelvouchers or airline tickets issued by an airline affiliated with theentity 102. Many types of reward units may be utilized, and reward unittypes may be differentiated by benefits offered through redemption ofthe reward units. For example, reward unit types may be linked todifferent types of merchants, industries, service providers, and thelike, and the reward units may be redeemable in different formsincluding lodging units, airline miles, merchandise units, serviceunits, gift certificates, cash, and the like.

Additionally, the individual may have at least one additional rewardaccount 142, and the at least one additional reward account 142 may beassociated with at least one additional transaction account 104. Theadditional reward account 142 and/or additional transaction account 140may be managed by an entity independent of entity 102. Alternatively,the additional reward account 142 and/or additional transaction account140 may be managed by entity 102. The additional reward account 142 maycontain one or more rewards, for example in the form of reward units orpoints. The additional transaction account 140 and/or additional rewardaccount 142 may be managed and utilized in a manner similar to themanagement and utilization of the respective transaction account 104and/or reward account 106, as described below.

Exemplary embodiments of methods of the present application may includedetermining threshold criteria for reward provision, identifying anindividual meeting the threshold criteria, determining a targeted rewardredemption offer, providing the targeted offer to the identifiedindividual, receiving a response to the targeted offer from theindividual, and adjusting an account of the individual in accordancewith the targeted offer and the received response.

Referring to FIG. 2, for example, threshold criteria may be determinedat step 202. In an exemplary embodiment, the threshold criteria mayinclude, for example, a threshold quantity of reward units which may beheld in the reward account 106 and/or granted to at least one individualwithin a predetermined period of time. The threshold quantity of rewardunits may additionally include an average quantity of reward unitsand/or a median quantity of reward units. The threshold quantities ofreward units may be measured and/or calculated at any suitable time, andmay be calculated once or on a periodic, recurring schedule. Thecalculation may be performed, for example, at least once daily, weekly,monthly, quarterly, annually, and the like.

In an exemplary embodiment, determination of the threshold criteria maybe performed in association with date information, for exampleinformation indicating a season or a time of year. The date informationmay be utilized to modify the threshold criteria to accommodatetraditional consumer transaction and reward redemption behaviorpatterns. The threshold quantity of reward units may be adjusted inaccordance with a date, for example, by increasing the thresholdquantity of reward units determined during traditional vacation orholiday shopping periods associated with high levels of consumeractivity. Similarly, the threshold quantity of reward units may bedecreased during periods of low consumer activity, such as post-holidayshopping periods.

At least one individual meeting the threshold criteria may be identifiedat step 204. The determining of individuals may include parsing andsearching of transaction history information, examination of a balanceof transaction account 104, examination of a balance of reward account106, and/or processing of other individual information. In an exemplaryembodiment, the individual information may be located in one or moredatabases stored, for example, in internal storage device 116 and/orexternal storage device 118, and the one or more databases may containindividual transaction account information, reward account information,individual demographic information, and the like.

In an exemplary embodiment, for example, the one or more databases maycontain at least one reward unit adjustment table, wherein allindividual reward unit adjustments may be stored, such as reward unitsearned by the respective individual, reward units redeemed by therespective individual, effective dates of modification or status changeof reward units of the respective individual, type and/or category ofpast redemptions of reward units of the respective individual, and otherinformation related to the reward units held by and/or redeemed byindividuals. The type and/or category of past redemptions may include,for example, a category of good and/or service for which the rewardunits were exchanged, such as cash, merchandise, air travel, services,gift card, charity, foreign locations, and the like.

The individual information stored in the one or more databases mayinclude information associated with a plurality of individuals. Theplurality of individuals may be associated with entity 102, for example,as accountholders of accounts managed by the entity 102. For example,the information stored for each respective individual may include one ormore of an individual name, an individual address, an individualtaxpayer identification number, individual preexisting account andassociated financial entity information, individual reward accountinformation, a credit limit of a transaction account of the individual,individual financial asset information, individual financial historyinformation, individual employment information, and the like. Additionalindividual information may also be stored, for instance, informationsuch as demographic information of each respective individual, a historyof purchases by each individual of a type of product or service, ahistory of purchases by each individual at a particular merchant orbranch retail locations of the merchant, a history of purchases by eachindividual in a geographical region, and the like. The demographicinformation of the individuals may include information related toindividual age, sex, family status, and the like.

Additionally, the one or more databases may include transaction historyarchive information, such as historical records of each transactionperformed by a respective individual, as well as information associatedwith transaction location, transaction merchant identifier, transactionmerchant type, transaction item identifier, transaction item type,transaction time and/or date, and the like. The transaction historyarchive information may be categorized in several forms, for instance,by dividing the history archive information temporally orgeographically, and indexing the divided information in tables orcharts. In an exemplary embodiment, for example, the history archiveinformation may be categorized into a monthly earning table, to includea record of activity on a monthly basis. The monthly earning table maybe processed, for instance, to determine increased and/or decreasedactivity and patterns of transaction activity, which may in turn beutilized in determining a predicted probability of acceptance of atargeted offer.

In an exemplary embodiment, for instance, individuals determined tohave, for example, at least the threshold quantity of reward units intheir respective reward accounts may be identified for provision of atargeted reward redemption offer. Alternatively, individuals having anaverage and/or median quantity of reward units measured over apredetermined period of time may be identified for provision of atargeted offer. For instance, individuals having at least apredetermined monthly average balance or at least a predeterminedquarterly average balance may be identified in step 204.

Information associated with lengths of time of holding of the rewardunits may also be processed during the identification of step 204. In anexemplary embodiment, for example, a cumulative and/or average period oftime elapsed measured from a grant of the reward units may be utilized,and the threshold quantity of reward units may be adjusted in accordancetherewith. For instance, the threshold quantity of reward units may bedetermined as described above, and thereafter reduced by a factorcorresponding to an average holding period of the reward units in rewardaccount 106 of the individual. The threshold quantity may be, forexample, divided, multiplied, or otherwise arithmetically adjusted by anaverage holding period of the reward units held by the individual, andthe resulting value may be utilized in determining whether theindividual may be provided with a targeted offer. Alternatively, acoefficient or other numerical factor may be calculated, and processedto adjust the threshold quantity of reward units in identification ofthe at least one individual. Utilization of the information associatedwith lengths of time of holding of the reward units may be used in thismanner to adjust the threshold criteria, for example, to attribute lowerand/or more easily-attainable criteria values to longer-held balances ofreward units, to effect a greater to individuals which hold the rewardunits for various periods of time.

Other information associated with each respective individual may beutilized and/or processed to adjust the threshold criteria used duringidentification of the at least one individual. In alternative exemplaryembodiments, for example, individual transaction history information,individual transaction frequency information, information associatedwith lengths of time between transactions of the individual, informationassociated with average and/or median transaction values of theindividual, individual transaction location information, transactionaccount 104 and/or reward account 106 establishment date information,individual demographic information, and individual financial assetinformation may be utilized to adjust the threshold criteria and/or maybe utilized as additional threshold criteria factors.

In an exemplary embodiment, for example, transaction history informationmay be processed during the identification of step 204. Individualshaving purchased items within predetermined classes and/or types ofgoods may be identified as suitable for provision of a targeted offer.Similarly, individuals having a history of transactions performed withinpredetermined geographical areas, at predetermined merchants, and/orwithin predetermined periods of time may be identified as suitable forprovision of a targeted offer.

Additionally, expiration information associated with the reward unitsmay be processed. In an exemplary embodiment, for example, expirationconditions of the reward units may be identified and processed, andindividuals may be ranked and/or categorized in accordance with arelative quantity of reward units that may be near a time of expirationand/or that may be subject to other conditions regarding possibleredemption of the reward units. The expiration information may beprocessed, for example, in the identification of individuals havingreward units that will soon expire, or which have already expired at thetime of the identification processing. Individuals having a relativelyhigh number of reward units which will soon expire may not be identifiedfor provision of targeted offers, as they will have a short period oftime within which to act in accordance with the offer, or because theexpected expiration would eliminate their reward units fromconsideration. For instance, individuals having reward units which willexpire within a predetermined period of time, such as six months, maynot be identified for provision of the targeted offer.

The processing of the expiration information associated with the rewardunits may also include demographic information and informationassociated with transactions, spending patterns and/or behavior of theindividuals, as described above. In an exemplary embodiment, forinstance, transaction history information individuals having rewardunits expiring in a relatively short time may be processed to determinea relative likelihood that the individual may redeem the reward unitsprior to expiration.

Additionally, the identification processing of step 204 may includescoring and/or ranking of individuals in accordance with a predictedprobability that the respective individuals will elect to accept atargeted offer if a targeted reward redemption offer is provided. In anexemplary embodiment, for instance, individuals having a transactionhistory including purchases of a particular type of good or purchases ofgoods within a particular class of goods may be assigned a relativelyhigh probability of acceptance of a targeted offer involving similargoods. The relative probability processing may additionally includeindividual demographic information, individual geographic information,individual wealth information, and the like, as described above.

The threshold criteria and values of additional information used toadjust the threshold criteria as described above may be modified at anytime, for example to accommodate seasonal patterns, changing businessconditions, variations in individual demographics and/or spending andtransaction activity, and the like.

At least one targeted reward redemption offer may be determined andassociated with at least one identified individual at step 206. Thetargeted offer may include, for example, an offer inviting theidentified individual to exchange a predetermined quantity of rewardunits for a predetermined good and/or service. The targeted offer may beassociated with a predetermined type and/or category of good or service,and may additionally be associated with a predetermined merchant orchain of merchant, a predetermined type of merchant, a predeterminedgeographical area, and the like. The targeted offer may be limited induration, or may be indefinite in duration. The targeted rewardredemption offer may be specifically directed to and acceptable only bythe identified individual, or may be anonymous and acceptable by anyindividual possessing it. A targeted offer may be provided to aplurality of identified individuals that have common characteristics, oreach reward offer may be determined individually.

In an exemplary embodiment, for example, the one or more targeted offermay be limited to a particular type of good and/or service, such asairline travel. Targeted reward redemption offers may be determinedbased upon geographical distribution of transactions, or upondemographic information associated with residence of the individual.

The targeted reward redemption offers may be determined based upon aquantity of a balance of reward units determined in step 204. In anexemplary embodiment, for instance, a targeted reward redemption offerassociated with goods and/or services having a high cost may bedetermined for identified individuals having relatively large balancesof reward units. Similarly, targeted offers associated with goods and/orservices having “luxury” or “status” connotations may be determined foridentified individuals having relatively large balances of reward units.Likewise, targeted reward redemption offers associated with goods and/orservices having a low cost may be determined for identified individualshaving relatively low balances of reward units.

The determination of the targeted reward redemption offer may includeprocessing to ascertain a probability and/or likelihood of acceptance ofthe targeted offer by the identified individual. In an exemplaryembodiment, for instance, the probability of acceptance of the targetedoffer may be determined based upon the identified individual'stransaction history, redemption history, and/or any of the individualinformation described above. The characteristics of the targeted offermay then be adjusted in accordance with the determined probability ofacceptance. For instance, an individual associated with a transactionhistory including a particular type of good, or transactions having beenperformed within a particular season or geographical area may bedetermined to have a higher probability of acceptance of a targetedreward redemption offer associated with similar goods, seasons, orwithin similar geographical areas.

The at least one targeted reward redemption offer may be provided to theidentified individual at step 208. The provision of the targeted rewardredemption offer may include, for example, delivery of a paper documentand/or coupon transmitted via postal mail. Alternatively, the targetedreward redemption offer may be included within an electronic documentand/or other electronic communication transmitted via email or othersuitable electronic communication mechanism.

In an exemplary embodiment, the targeted reward redemption offer may bein the form of a coupon redeemable for predetermined goods and/orservices at one or more merchants, as described above. The targetedreward redemption offer may contain instructions associated with amanner of acceptance of the offer, and/or of the quantity of rewardunits that may be redeemed upon acceptance of the targeted rewardredemption offer.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the targeted reward redemptionoffer may include a transaction card in the form of a gift card and/orstored value card. The transaction card may be usable, for instance, ata merchant to obtain goods and/or services upon presentation of thetransaction card in exchange for a predetermined number of reward unitsassociated with the targeted offer. The transaction card may also beusable at an ATM, POS terminal, and the like. In an alternativeexemplary embodiment, the targeted reward redemption offer may include acheck redeemable at a financial institution for cash, and the quantityof cash associated with the offer may be associated with an equivalentvalue of reward units. Alternatively, the targeted offer may include agood delivered directly to the identified individual.

Receipt of a response to the targeted reward redemption offer may bereceived at step 210, and the response may include an express acceptanceor an express rejection by the identified individual. In an exemplaryembodiment, the acceptance may include an express acknowledgementtransmitted by the identified individual in the form of an expressredemption acceptance, for example by signing an acceptance form, viatelephone communication, via facsimile, via electronic mail, via SMS,via a software application presented on a web page, and the like.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, acceptance of the targeted offermay be inferred from confirmation of an action performed by theindividual in accordance with the targeted reward redemption offer, forexample, a deposit of targeted reward redemption offer check and/orusage of a targeted offer transaction card at a merchant. In anexemplary embodiment, for instance, the targeted reward redemption offermay include a coupon inviting and/or instructing the identifiedindividual to redeem a predetermined quantity of reward units for agood, service, and/or cash. The targeted offer may also include anindication that the coupon may be used by the individual by presentationof the coupon at a merchant, financial entity, and the like. Uponpresentation of the coupon in accordance with the indication included inthe targeted offer, the merchant, financial entity, and the like maythen transmit an notice to the entity 102 that the individual hasredeemed the targeted offer.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the targeted reward redemptionoffer may include a transaction instrument in an inactive state, forexample a transaction card, check, coupon, and the like. The instrumentmay be unredeemable by the identified individual until the individualtakes affirmative action to communicate an explicit acceptance of thetargeted reward redemption offer. For example, the affirmative actionmay include a telephonic, postal, facsimile, SMS, or electroniccommunication to indicate the individual's desire to accept the targetedreward redemption offer.

In an another alternative exemplary embodiment, the targeted rewardredemption offer may include a predetermined finite allowable acceptancetime limit, and an indication and/or instruction that acceptance of thetargeted reward redemption offer must be performed within thepredetermined allowable acceptance time. If an acceptance of thetargeted reward redemption offer that includes an allowable acceptancetime is not performed before the expiration of the allowable acceptancetime, the targeted offer may expire and the process may proceed to endat step 220. Alternatively, the targeted offer may include instructionsindicating actions to be taken to transmit an express rejection of thetargeted offer. Upon rejection of the targeted reward redemption offerby express rejection or by declining to affirmatively respond, theprocess may proceed to end at step 220.

Upon receipt of an acceptance of the targeted reward redemption offer asdescribed above, the reward unit balance of the identified individualmay be adjusted in accordance with the terms of the targeted rewardredemption offer at step 212. The adjustment may include deductingand/or removing reward units from the reward account 106, in a quantitycorresponding to the terms of the targeted offer. Adjustment associatedwith a targeted reward redemption offer including a transaction cardand/or a check may include calculation of an equivalent cash value ofreward units, the cash value being associated with the quantity of cashreceived by the accepting individual, and the deduction and/or removalof reward units in a quantity associated with the value of thecalculated equivalent cash value.

The embodiments described above are illustrative examples of the presentapplication and it should not be construed that the present applicationis limited to these particular embodiments. Various changes andmodifications may be effected by one skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the application as defined in theappended claims.

It should be understood that the present application is not limited tothe precise exemplary embodiments described herein and that variouschanges and modifications may be effected by one skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Forexample, elements and/or features of different illustrative embodimentsmay be combined with each other and/or substituted for each other withinthe scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. Inaddition, improvements and modifications which become apparent topersons of ordinary skill in the art after reading the presentdisclosure, the drawings, and the appended claims are deemed within thespirit and scope of the present application.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for facilitating reward redemption,comprising: a non-transitory storage medium storing instructions; and aprocessor in communication with the non-transitory storage medium, theprocessor, when executing the instructions, is configured to: calculatean individualized dynamically adjusted threshold, the individualizeddynamically adjusted threshold indicating a threshold quantity of rewardunits held within a predetermined period of time in order to participatein a reward redemption program; identify at least one customer of aplurality of customers that meets the individualized dynamicallyadjusted threshold by searching at least one database comprising accountinformation of each customer of the plurality of customers and thedynamically adjusted threshold being adjusted based on a length of timeof holding the reward units by each customer, transaction history dataof each customer, customer transaction frequency information,information associated with lengths of time between transactions of eachcustomer, information associated with average and median transactionvalues of each customer, customer transaction location information,transaction account and reward account establishment date information,customer demographic information, or customer financial assetinformation, wherein the at least one database comprising transactionhistory archive information corresponding to one or more historicalrecords of a transaction performed by the identified at least onecustomer; determine a probability of acceptance by the identified atleast one customer based on the transaction history archive informationof the at least one customer, wherein the transaction history archiveinformation is categorized by: dividing the transaction history archiveinformation temporally or geographically, indexing the dividedinformation in one or more tables or charts; and process the one or moretables or charts to determine patterns of transaction activity indetermining the probability of acceptance of the reward redemptionoffer; adjust a reward redemption offer based on the probability ofacceptance; send the reward redemption offer to the identified at leastone customer; receive a response indicating an acceptance by theidentified at least one customer of the reward redemption offer; andupdate account information of the identified at least one customer basedon the reward redemption offer and the received response.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein the transaction history data comprises at least oneof transaction item identifier information, transaction item typeinformation, transaction merchant identification information,transaction merchant type information, transaction date information,transaction time information, transaction location information,transaction value information, transaction frequency information, andreward holding period information.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein theprocessor calculates the individualized dynamically adjusted thresholdbased on one or more factors including an average quantity of rewardunits, a median quantity of reward units and date information, whereinthe date information includes one or more of the following: one or moretime periods of levels of consumer activity, a periodic, recurringschedule and a shopping season.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein theprocessor determines the reward redemption offer based on at least theindividualized dynamically adjusted threshold, levels of consumeractivity, geographical distribution of transactions and/or demographicinformation associated with the plurality of customers.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the processor transmits, via a network, an electroniccommunication to a device, wherein the electronic communicationcomprises the reward redemption offer in an inactive state.
 6. Thesystem of claim 5, wherein the processor receives, via the network, aresponse from the device, wherein the response indicates an acceptanceof the provided reward redemption offer confirming that the identifiedat least one customer has redeemed the reward redemption offer at amerchant system.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processordetermines a reward account of the identified at least one customerassociated with a transaction account, and adjusts the reward account ofthe identified at least one customer in accordance with the rewardredemption offer and the received response.
 8. A system for facilitatingreward redemption, comprising: a non-transitory storage medium storinginstructions; and a processor in communication with the non-transitorystorage medium, the processor, when executing the instructions, isconfigured to: calculate, based on account information of a customer ofa plurality of customers stored in at least one database, a dynamicallyadjusted threshold quantity of reward units held within a predeterminedperiod of time in order to participate in a reward redemption program,the dynamically adjusted threshold being calculated based on one or moreindividualized details including: a length of time of holding the rewardunits by each customer of the plurality of customers, transactionhistory data of each customer of the plurality of customers, customertransaction frequency information, information associated with lengthsof time between transactions of each customer of the plurality ofcustomers, information associated with average and median transactionvalues of each customer of the plurality of customers, customertransaction location information, transaction account and reward accountestablishment date information, customer demographic information, orcustomer financial asset information; determine that the customer meetsthe dynamically adjusted threshold quantity of reward units; determine aprobability of acceptance of a reward redemption offer by the customerbased on the transaction history data, transaction history archiveinformation, and redemption history of the customer, wherein thetransaction history archive information corresponds to one or morehistorical records of a transaction performed by the customer and iscategorized by: dividing the transaction history archive informationtemporally or geographically, indexing the divided information in one ormore tables or charts; and process the one or more tables or charts todetermine patterns of transaction activity in determining theprobability of acceptance of the reward redemption offer; adjust thereward redemption offer based on the probability of acceptance; send thereward redemption offer to the customer after determining that thecustomer meets the dynamically adjusted threshold quantity of rewardunits; receive a response indicating an acceptance by the customer ofthe reward redemption offer; and update the customer's accountinformation based on the reward redemption offer and the receivedresponse.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the transaction history datacomprises at least one of transaction item identifier information,transaction item type information, transaction merchant identificationinformation, transaction merchant type information, transaction dateinformation, transaction time information, transaction locationinformation, transaction value information, transaction frequencyinformation, and reward holding period information.
 10. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the processor calculates the dynamically adjustedthreshold based on one or more factors including an average quantity ofreward units, a median quantity of reward units and date information,wherein the date information includes one or more of the following: oneor more time periods of levels of consumer activity, a periodic,recurring schedule and a shopping season.
 11. The system of claim 8,wherein the processor determines the reward redemption offer based on atleast the dynamically adjusted threshold, levels of consumer activity,geographical distribution of transactions and/or demographic informationassociated with the customer.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein theprocessor transmits, via a network, an electronic communication to adevice, wherein the electronic communication comprises the rewardredemption offer in an inactive state.
 13. The system of claim 12,wherein the processor receives, via the network, a response from thedevice, wherein the response indicates an acceptance of the providedreward redemption offer confirming that the customer has redeemed thereward redemption offer at a merchant system.
 14. The system of claim 8,wherein the processor determines a reward account of the customerassociated with a transaction account, and adjusts the reward account ofthe customer in accordance with the reward redemption offer and thereceived response.
 15. A computer-implemented method for improved timingof a personalized targeted reward redemption offer to an individualbased on reward units held by the individual, comprising: receivingaccount holder information associated with a plurality of individualstransmitted by external systems via a network, the account holderinformation including transaction history data; determining, using aprocessor, threshold criteria, wherein the threshold criteria includes athreshold quantity of reward units held by at least one individualwithin a predetermined period of time that entitle the at least oneindividual to participate in a targeted reward redemption program;parsing the account holder information, using the processor, to identifythe at least one individual that meets an individualized dynamicallyadjusted threshold criteria based on the account holder information foreach respective individual, each individualized dynamically adjustedthreshold criteria being determined by adjusting the threshold criteriabased on a length of time of holding the reward units by eachindividual, the transaction history data of the individual, individualtransaction frequency information, information associated with lengthsof time between transactions of the individual, information associatedwith average and median transaction values of the individual, individualtransaction location information, transaction account and reward accountestablishment date information, individual demographic information,individual financial asset information, or combinations thereof, whereinthe processor identifies the at least one individual by searching atleast one database containing information associated with the identifiedindividual using the individualized dynamically adjusted thresholdcriteria, the at least one database also containing transaction historyarchive information; determining, using the processor, a targeted rewardredemption offer based on at least the individualized dynamicallyadjusted threshold criteria; determining, using the processor, aprobability of acceptance by the identified individual of the targetedreward redemption offer by: dividing the transaction history archiveinformation temporally or geographically; indexing the dividedinformation in one or more tables or charts; and processing, using theprocessor, the one or more tables or charts to determine patterns oftransaction activity in determining the probability of acceptance of thetargeted reward redemption offer; adjusting, using the processor, thetargeted reward redemption offer based on the determined probability ofacceptance; transmitting, using the processor via a network, anelectronic communication to a device, wherein the electroniccommunication comprises the targeted reward redemption offer in aninactive state; receiving, at the processor via the network, a responsefrom the device, wherein the response indicates an acceptance of theprovided targeted reward redemption offer confirming that the identifiedindividual has redeemed the targeted reward redemption offer at amerchant system; determining, via the processor, a reward account of theidentified individual associated with a transaction account; andadjusting, via the processor, the reward account of the identifiedindividual in accordance with the targeted reward redemption offer andthe received response.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15,wherein the adjusting the reward account of the identified individual inaccordance with the targeted reward redemption offer and the receivedresponse includes: adjusting, via the processor, at least one ofmerchandise reward units, service reward units, airline reward units,lodging reward units, gift certificate reward units, and cash rewardunits.